Previously
After falling ill from the strain of her rituals, Kang Lee-jae receives a suspicious letter from Duke Duncan offering to send his own servants to the palace. Seeking the King to discuss this, she interrupts a violent outburst in the reception hall where Roderick is on the verge of executing an official.
Fate Is a Meeting of Souls (Part 3)
Lee-jae slowly sipped her tea, keeping a close eye on the King.
He had taken merely a single sip, and he had not stopped staring at her since.
That piercing gaze weighed heavily on her, and she warily took in the room.
Just as she anticipated, Roderick leaned back slightly and spoke. “Hailey Duncan.”
Lee-jae took another sip, though she honestly thought it tasted rather bland.
She still needed more time to decide whether she and the head maid were truly of one mind.
"…"
Lee-jae nearly choked on her tea, managing to swallow it with great effort.
Fortunately, Roderick offered a faint smile at her half-jest.
His gaze suggested he knew she was lying again, but at least he did not despise a joke.
Even so, he looked thoroughly drained, like a wounded beast.
At that very moment, malevolent spirits still drifted around them, eagerly awaiting an opening to strike the second Lee-jae stepped away from the King. The tension began to mount.
‘He truly is a concerning sight.’
Lee-jae took in the scene with unease, a bitter smile gracing her lips.
Though most people never sensed such things, merely beholding these apparitions was utterly exhausting.
‘Well, he is not a man I can easily brush aside. This is for your own sake, Kang Lee-jae. Just this once.’
Having persuaded herself, she rose and approached the King.
She quietly took a seat beside him, prompting Roderick to raise an inquisitive brow.
When their eyes met, he questioned her.
She had no clear answer ready, but she noticed that the dark spirits hovering near him began to draw back, hissing curses at her.
She asked in a gentle voice.
"…"
Lee-jae nodded in assent.
Lee-jae looked straight ahead once more, letting out a faint sigh before pausing in brief hesitation.
After a moment, she gently reached out and clasped his hand, which rested carelessly upon his knees.
Upon seeing this, Jade shut his eyes tight. He felt she had crossed a line.
The King harbored bitter feelings toward the Duncan family, and it was well known among the palace maids that their wedding night had passed without so much as a touch.
The condition of the Queen’s nightgown had been bizarre, yet both her body and the sheets had remained entirely dry.
And from that night on, they had never shared a bed again.
Yet what Lee-jae did was not out of a desire for an affectionate touch.
She acted from a perspective akin to that of a shaman or a physician.
Though she was not entirely certain whether looking like a shaman was any better.
Lee-jae gingerly applied pressure to his palm, glancing toward Roderick to gauge his reaction.
Roderick appeared taken aback this time, yet the sight of the young Queen’s strained face elicited a faint smile beneath a slight frown.
Thankfully, he did not draw his hand back, granting Lee-jae a small measure of relief.
It seemed he was not so cruel as to refuse his wife’s hand.
"…"
Roderick let slip a dry chuckle. It appeared this time that the Queen had surrendered any attempt to conceal the truth.
Yet Lee-jae understood the meridians and energy flows of the human body all too well.
People whose vital energy had waned for a prolonged span could never overcome evil spirits on their own, nor could they immediately endure rituals at a shrine.
Such tasks had always fallen upon Lee-jae’s shoulders.
When the King remained silent, Lee-jae reached carefully toward his shoulder, applying firm pressure to a specific point once more.
She began applying gentle pressure across his frame, checking his body with careful deliberation.
The reason she had taken his hand first was that she could not shake the fear that Hailey’s head might roll if she carelessly pressed somewhere like his neck.
She had never before seen the King in a sound state of mind.
And at present, the King did not even seem interested in knowing her reasons.
He merely watched the Queen work with her delicate hand, struck with quiet astonishment.
Roderick answered with a faint smile.
Meanwhile, the onlookers had strange looks on their faces.
In truth, they were fraught with sheer dread.
For the King had grown harsh over the slightest annoyance, and at times he turned cruel for no reason whatsoever.
Yet Lee-jae remained thoroughly serious on her own.
That night, when she had laid the King upon the bed, she had sensed something distinctly different from anyone else.
This man possessed an exceptionally powerful innate energy.
He was among those renowned figures who held great accomplishment and an extraordinary destiny. Such a presence manifested only in those destined for great deeds in their chosen path.
Normally, such people were never plagued by malevolent spirits.
Just how severe were the deeds he had committed to draw such evil spirits in such numbers?
Yet as a consequence of years under those vile influences, his energy had turned disordered and choked.
Those with such formidable energy faced far greater peril should their inner flows become blocked.
It was all too common for them to end up partially paralyzed. And Lee-jae had never been able to handle such severe cases alone; that had always been the domain of the Sacred Elder.
Lee-jae pressed firmly into the hollow between his spine and shoulder blade.
Roderick let out a low groan, and she lightly applied pressure to the area between his neck and ear.
She began to murmur under her breath.
‘Clear. Clear.’
‘Done.’
As the stagnant energy began to circulate once more, Roderick felt an abrupt wash of relief, like someone coming out of the biting cold into a heated room.
In truth, an ordinary person would have lost consciousness the moment the malevolent spirits drew back.
Lee-jae gently guided Roderick’s shoulder and let his head rest upon her lap, for he was already half-asleep.
A pair of indistinct murmurs escaped him after that.
Unbeknownst to the King, his voice sounded somewhat peculiar, resembling a content groan that might have invited improper assumptions.
Nonetheless, her actions were entirely natural and wholesome. As she pressed against his forehead, she poured out her own spiritual energy completely, until beads of sweat formed on her brow.
Upon hearing the King’s steady breathing and confirming he had fallen into a deep slumber, she leaned back against the sofa, utter exhaustion washing over her.
‘Perhaps I was fated to live a life in service of others, and that is why I was granted another span of days?’
Yet this was no lasting cure. The King had merely gained an extra measure of strength to endure his burden.
‘I am sorry, this is all I can manage for now.’
Meanwhile, Jade cautiously drew near, tense with worry that things might erupt into another violent outburst.
He stared in wonder at the peacefully sleeping King.
Just half an hour ago, he had been a raging monster, yet now he appeared as gentle as a lamb.
The attendants standing at a distance watched the scene from the corner of the room with anxious eyes.
"…"
Even as she spoke, Lee-jae knew full well that this was far from ordinary. Yet Jade appeared eager to speak of something else.
The Commander of the Guard tried courteously to justify the earlier outburst, but Lee-jae simply nodded in understanding.
"…"
Lee-jae asked, slightly concerned. Though she understood the circumstances, she doubted favorable rumors would emerge from it.
All Jade could do was let out a sigh.
The Head Butler approached in silence and gently draped a soft blanket over the King’s deeply sleeping form.
Moments later, Deborah stepped toward the sofa as well.
Lee-jae caught sight of Deborah’s piercing glare, looking as though she wished to murder the Head Butler on the spot, and found her expression bewildering.
Yet Deborah immediately composed her face and addressed Lee-jae.
The Head Butler realized his oversight that instant, a look of remorse crossing his face, but Lee-jae shook her head.
Lee-jae began carefully trying to slide her knees from beneath the King’s head without disturbing him.
Though she did not believe he would easily awaken, she had no wish to ruin his deep rest.
Roderick did not stir awake easily, just as she expected, yet he shifted slightly as Lee-jae began to pull away, grasping the hem of her clothes at her waist and pressing closer against her.
Another low hum escaped him, entirely subconscious.
A profound silence descended upon the room once more, and an awkward embarrassment showed on every face.
Had Lee-jae believed this gesture carried any romantic affection, she would have flushed just as the others did.
Naturally, she felt somewhat flustered, but she was well aware that this was not the case.
Roderick was merely acting on instinct, attempting to cling to the pure energy she carried, perhaps drawn by the talisman in her possession or the inherent clarity of her spirit.
Had his mind been sound, he never would have done such a thing. Yet his body, having suffered through negative forces for so long, was involuntarily seeking out a place of comfort.
The greater problem was that the others knew nothing of this. Lee-jae extended her hand toward the flustered Head Butler.
The Head Butler promptly fetched a blanket and handed it to Deborah, who took it proudly and carefully draped it around the Queen.
She felt no overwhelming urge to vomit as she had before.
She knew that applying pressure to the paths where pooled energy clustered required skill and insight.
Even so, after maintaining such intense focus for so long, a profound weariness washed over her once more.
Dealing with such people always made life exhausting.
She bundled herself in the blanket and closed her eyes.
At times, she felt an urge to pull away from Roderick’s hot breath or his hands continuously resting at her waist, yet she whispered internally.
‘This man is ill.’
‘He is my husband, but in the end, he is an invalid.’
‘I must treat this with compassion.’
‘Good thoughts, pure thoughts.’
‘Wicked demon within me, be gone.’
And before long, Lee-jae sank into a deep slumber, just like Roderick.